COBRE Implementation Research Core

Current research highlights the major science-to-practice gap of many promising innovations that have emerged from biomedical research because they are either not well-integrated or a good fit with the system context workflows they were developed for. Recent recommendations for next-gen biomedical intervention research call for greater attention to end-user stakeholder perspectives and user-centered design approaches, grounded in optimizing implementation, to systematically integrate innovations into their intended ecosystems.

Two key priorities in this effort are:

Aligning how implementation science frameworks, methods, and measurement approaches are applied across separate studies to enable between-study comparisons.
Fostering a deeper understanding of the factors that influence adoption and sustainment of evidence-based practices in different settings.

The Implementation Research Core (IRC) activities support building researcher capacity to integrate implementation science into their area(s) of research through:

	Fundamentals of Implementation Science Series
	Monthly didactic presentations by experts in implementation research. Visit our Past Events page for recordings and slides.
	The IRC recently hosted a four-part series on applying Theories, Models, and Frameworks (TMFs) in implementation research, including:
	The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) Framework
	The Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) Framework
	The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) Framework
	The Implementation Research Logic Model (IRLM)

	Works in Progress (WIP)
	Monthly hybrid sessions where an investigator presents a research project on which they are seeking input on implementation research design and methods. The IRC team of experts and peers provide robust feedback during the session and in follow-up consultations.

	Interested in presenting at a WIP session? Email the IRC

	One-on-One Implementation Science Consultations
	The IRC supports incorporating implementation science methodologies into research and practice. Consultations are used to help researchers:
	Apply Implementation Science Theories, Models, and Frameworks to promote rigorous research than can accelerate the translations of what works into practice.
	Design and execute impactful research that can be successfully integrated into the intended ecosystems.
	To request a consultation, please complete the IRC Intake Form.

	Workshops
	The IRC supports Research Project Lead (RPL) professional development and expertise in implementation science through diverse workshop offerings.
	Visit our Workshops page to learn more and view past recordings.

Dartmouth's COBRE IRC Core brings together a broad, multidisciplinary group with expertise in clinical science, intervention development, digital therapeutics, implementation science and research, epidemiology, medical anthropology, clinical informatics, biomedical data science, quantitative and qualitative methods and analytic strategies, community engagement, participatory methods, health equity, engineering, and human-centered design. Such broadness will support the growth of the individual RPLs into multidisciplinary team members and contribute to the critical spectrum of perspectives and skills for training and mentoring in conduct of implementation research for the broad network of institution and national IDeAs investigators who will use our resources. The Co-Directors of the IRC have well-established and wide networks of preeminent national and international scholars in implementation science that can be drawn upon to contribute to the COBRE training and research capacity-building mission.

Training services and resources will provide comprehensive learning about and application of state-of- the-science implementation theories, frameworks and methodologies that address current priority areas in the field, namely health equity, adaptation and sustainability. The systematic application of the three proposed implementation frameworks, with associated methods and measurement approaches, across each RPL project will produce cumulative findings to advance scientific understanding for maximizing effectiveness and optimizing implementation of the proposed interventions in later-stage research.

The cumulative and harmonized quantitative and qualitative data collected from RPLs will seed a strong foundation for creation of a research synthesis repository and development of an implementation science learning community institutionally and across the IDeAs network. The proposed harmonization of implementation framework approach and measurement across RPL projects will also foster cross-disciplinary dialogues, promote insights into generalizability and scalability of the diverse project interventions, and guide directions to promote health equity.

COBRE IRC Team: